Popular pub extends opening times to make up for 'lost' hour

Owners of the Devonshire Cat pub have been granted longer opening hours despite being criticised for “mocking” local residents.

Toby Grattidge, owner of the pub on Wellington Street, applied to Sheffield City Council to extend their drinking hours from 2am to 3am.

They said it will compensate for the single hour lost in March when British Summertime starts.

But some residents objected saying the application was “nonsense” and will disrupt sleep.

At a licensing sub-committee meeting to discuss the proposal one resident, who lives around 10m from the pub, said: “I’ve tolerated a lot of things. It’s not about what happens in the pub that I have an issue with, it’s what happens when people leave – shouting in the street and things – it’s annoying at midnight, it’s intolerable at 2am but it’s absolutely unbearable at 3am.

“We have had to tolerate it most weekends now but to start spreading into the week would just be grim.”

The pub’s solicitor said their record was “unblemished” and said their pub-goers would be less likely to wander around streets if the pub was open later.

The license was granted by Councillor Josie Paszek, chair of the committee, and Mr Grattidge was reminded not to allow people who were already drunk to be served more alcohol.

He said: “We largely wanted to extend our hours because everyone else was doing it. We won’t even use it that much but not having the option would not have been ideal.

“We will give it a short trial and if it’s causing any issues or if it’s not that busy – we probably won’t use it.

“We probably won’t be open until 3am during the week but will give it a try before Christmas and see what impact it has. We are actually very conscious about staff because it keeps them up late which is a bit of a drag.

“We think there are some issues around anti-social behaviour and I agree with the residents on a lot of their points, everyone is entitled to a good night’s sleep.

“It’s been nice to hear from the residents because it reminds us that we do have an obligation to listen to people and not make their lives bad.”